google-ad-scraper

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Scrape competitor ads from Google's Ads Transparency Center (Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail). Search by company name, domain, or advertiser ID. Returns ad creatives, formats, targeting regions, and campaign details. Use for competitive ad research and messaging analysis.

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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add nikiandr/goose-skills google-ad-scraper

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Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
google-ads-scrapercompetitive-ad-researchapify-actorcli-tooldata-extraction

SKILL.md Content

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Google Ads Transparency Scraper

Scrape ads from Google's Ads Transparency Center using the Apify 
xtech/google-ad-transparency-scraper
actor. Covers Search, YouTube, Display, and Gmail ads.

Quick Start

Requires 
APIFY_API_TOKEN
env var (or 
--token
flag). Install dependency: 
pip install requests
.
bash
# Search by company name (auto-resolves advertiser ID)
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --company "Nike"

# Search by domain (more precise)
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "nike.com"

# Direct advertiser ID (skip lookup step)
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --advertiser-id "AR13129532367502835713"

# With region filter
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --company "Shopify" --region US

# Limit results
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "hubspot.com" --max-ads 30

# Human-readable summary
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --company "Stripe" --output summary

How It Works

  1. Advertiser Resolution (if no 
    --advertiser-id
    provided):
    • Takes company name or domain
    • Searches Google Ads Transparency Center using Apify's web-scraper (Puppeteer)
    • Extracts advertiser ID(s) from search results (format: 
      AR
      + 20 digits)
  2. Ad Scraping:
    • Constructs transparency center URL for the advertiser
    • Calls the Apify 
      xtech/google-ad-transparency-scraper
      actor
    • Polls until complete, fetches dataset
  3. Output: Returns ads as JSON or human-readable summary

Advertiser ID Resolution

The script handles the name → ID lookup automatically:
  • By domain (
    --domain nike.com
    ): Searches 
    adstransparency.google.com/?domain=nike.com
    . Most reliable method.
  • By name (
    --company "Nike"
    ): Searches 
    adstransparency.google.com/?text=Nike
    . May return multiple matches.
  • Direct ID (
    --advertiser-id AR...
    ): Skips lookup entirely. Use when you already have the ID.

Finding the Advertiser ID Manually

If auto-resolution fails:
  1. Go to https://adstransparency.google.com
  2. Search for the company
  3. Click on the advertiser
  4. Copy the ID from the URL: 
    https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR17828074650563772417
  5. Pass it via 
    --advertiser-id AR17828074650563772417

CLI Reference

FlagDefaultDescription
--company
noneCompany name to search
--domain
noneCompany domain (e.g. nike.com) — more precise
--advertiser-id
noneGoogle Ads advertiser ID(s), comma-separated (skips lookup)
--region
anywhereRegion filter (US, GB, DE, etc. or "anywhere")
--max-ads
50Maximum number of ads to return
--output
jsonOutput format: 
json
or 
summary
--token
env varApify token (prefer 
APIFY_API_TOKEN
env var)
--timeout
300Max seconds to wait for Apify run
At least one of 
--company
, 
--domain
, or 
--advertiser-id
is required.

Output Fields

Each ad in the output may contain (varies by ad format):
json
{
  "advertiser_name": "Nike, Inc.",
  "advertiser_id": "AR13129532367502835713",
  "ad_format": "TEXT",
  "headline": "Nike.com - Official Site",
  "description": "Shop the latest Nike shoes, clothing...",
  "display_url": "nike.com",
  "destination_url": "https://www.nike.com/",
  "region": "United States",
  "last_shown": "2026-02-20",
  "first_shown": "2026-01-15",
  "image_url": "https://...",
  "video_url": "https://..."
}

Cost

  • Advertiser lookup: ~$0.05 (one web-scraper page)
  • Ad scraping: Varies by actor pricing, typically a few cents per advertiser

Common Workflows

1. Competitor Ad Research

bash
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "competitor.com" --max-ads 100 --output summary

2. Compare Multiple Competitors

bash
# Get IDs first, then scrape in one run
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --advertiser-id "AR111,AR222,AR333" --max-ads 50

3. Regional Ad Targeting Analysis

bash
# See what ads run in specific regions
python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "shopify.com" --region US --output summary

python3 skills/google-ad-scraper/scripts/search_google_ads.py \
  --domain "shopify.com" --region GB --output summary

Limitations

  • Advertiser ID lookup uses Puppeteer-based web scraping of Google's SPA. It may occasionally fail — use 
    --domain
    for best results or provide 
    --advertiser-id
    directly.
  • Ad coverage: Google only shows ads from verified advertisers. Some smaller advertisers may not appear.
  • Historical data: The Transparency Center primarily shows recently active ads.

Configuration

See 
references/apify-config.md
for detailed API configuration, token setup, and rate limits.